Trump debanking push gets backing from Treasury report on major banks
A Treasury report found that major U.S. banks have used vague 'reputation risk' policies to potentially discriminate against customers based on political or religious views. The findings support President Trump's ongoing campaign against 'debanking' practices within the financial sector.
Why it matters
This report provides regulatory backing for potential new rules that could force banks to justify service denials based on financial risk rather than social or political considerations.
The Treasury Department's Office of the Comptroller of the Currency found some of the largest banks serving the U.S. allowed political considerations, public pressure and social concerns to influence decisions about who received banking services, according to a sweeping report released Wednesday.
The OCC said it reviewed the nine largest national banks under its supervision, examining nearly 100,000 complaints and about 420,000 pages of documents. It found that all nine had used "reputation risk" policies that lacked "clear," "objective" standards and could disadvantage customers because of their political or religious views or lawful business activities.
"Banks should make decisions based on financial risk, not the political or social preferences of their employees or executives," Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould said, according to a transcript of his in remarks Wednesday in Lexington, Kentucky.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in